Taliban Take Strategic District in Northern Afghanistan

The Taliban has captured another district in the northern province of Badakhshan, Afghan officials said.

The Taliban launched a surprise attack on May 3 in the Kohistanat district, which is located along a route to the provincial capital, Fayz Abad.

Abdullah Naji Nazari, a provincial council member, said on May 5 that no casualties were reported in the day-long assault. He added that the captured district is now the third under Taliban control in Badakhshan, which has about two dozen districts.

An army spokesman in nearby northern Balkh Province, Mohammad Anif Rezaye, said reinforcements have arrived in Fayz Abad but are awaiting orders to move against the Taliban due to bad weather in the region.